The use of receptacles, such as mailboxes, post boxes and the like, to receive and store mail for later collection by the owner of the mail is a well established practice. Most buildings typically have a dedicated area or box into which mail belonging to occupants of the building is delivered by postal services, couriers and the like.
Conventionally, mail boxes typically include a slot for receiving mail in the form of envelopes or thin parcels. Such slots are typically of a sufficient size to receive envelopes or parcels of varying thickness into a storage area. The storage area may be lockable to provide a degree of security for the owner of the mail box, and is typically enclosed to protect the delivered mail from exposure to rain, wind and the like. Such conventional mailboxes have typically been unable to receive larger parcels or packages that cannot pass through the slot.
With the increasing popularity of online trading, there has been a significant increase in parcel delivery services to delivery purchases made through online trading sites. Typically, such purchases are delivered by regular mail services or dedicated courier services to an address designated by the purchaser, often a residential address. In instances where the goods purchased are of a size that prevents the goods being delivered into the purchaser's mail box, most delivery services will typically only deliver the goods directly to the purchaser or a delegate of the purchaser, and will not leave the goods unattended due to the possibility of theft. If the purchaser or a delegate is not present, a card is often left in the purchaser's mail box to alert the purchaser of the need to collect the goods at a dedicated collection point, typically at a dedicated time.
It will be appreciated that such a system is inconvenient for both the purchaser and the delivery service as the purchaser will need to find time to attend the dedicated collection point to collect the goods, and the delivery service will have costs associated with an unsuccessful delivery as well as the need to store the item until it is collected.
Thus, there is a need to provide a dedicated receptacle that can be used for the receipt and storage of conventional mail as well as larger parcels, in a convenient and secure manner, without fear of theft or damage to the goods stored therein.
The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the above prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part.